NFL: Osi Umenyiora Says Extension With Giants Looking Unlikely

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora does not believe the Giants will be able to give him the contract extension he has long wanted.

“Would I want to (stay)? I think it would be ideal,” Umenyiora said while promoting the NFL Play 60 Youth Football game for Xbox 360 Kinect. “I think I would if things could be worked out. But is that going to happen? I really don’t think so.”

So if that’s the case, Umenyiora thinks the Giants might be better off trading him for something in return during the draft. The defensive end does not want to return without a raise and play in the final year of his deal, which is worth just under $4 million this season.

“Next year, if I leave (after the contract is up), they won’t get anything,” Umenyiora said of the Giants. “Maybe they will get a compensatory pick. But that’s it. So if they are going to do it, now would be the best time to (make a trade).”

Umenyiora said he has not been sleeping well the past few weeks due to anxiety over his future as the draft approaches. He has had preliminary discussions with the Giants, who are open to an extension. But Umenyiora knows that the Giants have several other players they will need to take care of in the future.

“I was happy that he said that,” Umenyiora said when asked about general manager Jerry Reese saying he is open to an extension. “But is it really going to happen? I don’t think so. I doubt it because of the situation that they have with Jason (Pierre-Paul), Justin (Tuck), Victor (Cruz) and Hakeem (Nicks) coming up (eventually), a bunch of young players they have to take care of.”

“So I feel like I’m one of the very good pass rushers in the NFL, I think my statistics have proven that,” he added. “Are they going to be able to pay me as such? I seriously doubt that.”

Umenyiora wanted a new contract last year and sat out the first two weeks of training camp last summer. The team briefly allowed Umenyiora to seek a trade with the team seeking a first-round pick in return. The defensive end returned for three practices before opting for minor knee surgery. Once he played, Umenyiora had nine sacks in the regular season and another 3.5 sacks in the Giants’ Super Bowl playoff run.

Umenyiora, 30, ended up playing in 2011 under his contract and does not want to do that again this season.

“So what do I do? Do I suck it up and come back and put my tail between legs like I’ve always done for these last couple of years,” Umenyiora asked. “Do I do that again this year? Or do I go out there and try to do what’s best for me one time? It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this but it’s the business that we are in.”

However, Umenyiora seems willing to play out the final year of his contract for another team if he were traded so that he can prove his worth to that new team.

“Playing for another team would give me an opportunity to really show what type of player I am,” the defensive end said. “There’s this misconception that I don’t play (well against) the run partly because of the games that I’ve had in the past and partly because of the way the Giants have used me.”

With all that being said, Umenyiora said he would love to remain a Giant. But he also wonders how that is going to be possible considering he wants to do so with a new contract.

“Somebody was just saying to me that they have never seen a defensive end who’s been made out to play out all seven years of a deal,” said Umenyiora, who signed a six-year extension worth a reported $41 million in 2005. “For the Giants to make me do that is kind of unfortunate. It’s a business and I understand their perspective and I feel they understand my perspective.”

“I love the Giants,” he added when asked if there was any way he could come play out the final year of his current contract with the Giants. “If I had to do it I guess I would. If I had to play out my last year here, I really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

WRITTEN BY Ohm Youngmisuk | ESPNNewYork.com & FULL STORY HERE